Florida Swimming Adds Five for 2004-05 Season Something old, something new, something borrowed, something (Orange and) Blue

GAINESVILLE, Fla., June 24 – THE University of Florida men’s and women’s swimming head coach Gregg Troy announced the addition of swimmers Grant Johnson (Clearwater, Fla.) and Chris Millen (Richboro, Pa.) to the men’s team and Ingrid Haiden (South Africa) to the women’s team for the 2004-05 season(SOMETHING NEW). The additions bring the total number of incoming women’s swimmers to nine, while the men’s team will have 13 newcomers.

One of the state’s best swimmers, Johnson was a key contributor on his Clearwater High School team. He earned NISCA All-America honors in both the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke in 2003. As a junior, he was Florida Class AAA state champion in the 100-yard freestyle (46.44) and the 100-yard backstroke (52.42), setting school records in both events. As a sophomore, he placed fifth in both events at the state meet. He also swam in four events at the 2004 U.S. Spring Nationals and competed in five events at the 2003 NCSA Junior Nationals, posting a high finish of ninth in the 200-yard freestyle (1:40.85).

“Grant is a real sleeper,” Troy said. “He really came on in the last year. He might be one of the best kids out of Florida this year. He has a tremendous upside and could really help us out in sprint freestyle and backstroke events.”

Millen will join the Gators after a standout prep career at Holy Ghost Prep High School. At the 2004 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class AA meet, he finished third in the 200-yard individual medley (1:58.03) and fourth in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:44.96. In 2003 at the state meet, he took third in the 500-yard freestyle (4:45.14) and fifth in the 200-yard individual medley (1:58.66). He set team records in the 200-yard freestyle, the 500-yard freestyle and the 200-yard individual medley. Millen is also an NISCA Scholastic All-American and a USA Swimming Academic All-American.

“Chris comes from a really good program,” Troy said. “He has a great deal of upside and think we’ll see him really help us out down the road in distance free events as well as the 400 individual medley.”

Haiden is the top-ranked South African in the women’s 50-, 100- and 200-meter breaststroke in 2003-04. She was a semifinalist at the 2003 FINA World Championships in the 200-meter breaststroke and a triple gold medalist at the Eighth All-Africa Games. Haiden was the national long course champion in the 200-meter breaststroke and the national short course champion in 50- and 100-meter breaststroke in 2003.

“Ingrid is a big time player,” Troy said. “She was a scorer at the World Championships. Ingrid will make an immediate impact and will add depth in the breaststroke.”

In addition to the seven signees, UF will add two more swimmers for the upcoming season, Jamie Reid (Orlando, Fla.) (SOMETHING OLD) and Candace Weiman (Castro Valley, Calif) (SOMETHING BORROWED).

Reid will return for the 2004-05 season, after she left Florida for the 2003-04 school year to train for the Olympics. Reid, who competed for the Gators in 2002-03, had an impressive freshman campaign with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships in the 200 backstroke. Reid also tallied 10 wins in dual meets.

Weiman transferred from the University of Alabama and enrolled at Florida in Jan. 2004. Weiman will be eligible to compete for the Gators in Jan. 2005. She earned four All-America honors in 2003 as a freshman and holds the Alabama school record in the 200-yard IM (2:00.02). Weiman finished fourth in the 100-yard butterfly and fifth in the 200-yard IM at the 2003 SEC Championships. Weiman had an impressive prep career which included setting 12 records at Castro Valley High School, and she was the 1999 U.S. Junior National Champion in the 100 butterfly.

Johnson and Millen join the other members of the Gators’ 2004-05 class: Ron Ballatore (Gainesville, Fla.) Chris Barnard (Weston, Fla.), Nick Bonucchi (Bridel, Luxembourg), Tim Hughes (Winter Park, Fla.), Max Jaben (Overland Park, Kan.), Dustin McLarty (DeLand, Fla.), Daniel Penniman (Pensacola, Fla.), Darian Townsend (South Africa), J.B. Walsh (Virginia Beach, Va.), Grant Wieczorek (Carmel, Ind.) and Tobias Work (Falmouth, Mass.).

Haiden will join the following as members of the Gators’ 2004-05 class: Caroline Burckle (Louisville, Ky.), Amanda Hartley (Tallahassee, Fla.), Colleen Healy (Cape Coral, Fla.), Kim Larson (Longwood, Fla.), Natalie Pike (Boca Raton, Fla.), and Samantha Vanderbilt (Nashville, Tenn.)

All the new Gators will now become SOMETHING (ORANGE AND) BLUE, giving Coach Troy and his staff the raw material to continue the fine tradition of University of Florida Swimming.

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